Angel Pagan left tonight’s game in the seventh inning with muscle spasms in his right side and is day-to-day. If Jerry Manuel stays consistent to what he says he will rest Pagan tomorrow as he sits a player the day after he pulls him from a game because of injury.

Since the Mets have Kelvim Escobar plugged into the set-up role it leaves them with a decision to make on Bobby Parnell.

PARNELL: What to do with him?

Do they leave him in the bullpen in a less pressurized role, or if their long-term projection is for him as a starter, do they send him to the minors in that capacity?

The Mets bounced Parnell around last year from a seventh-inning reliever, to set-up reliever when JJ Putz was injured to the rotation when the roof caved in.

Parnell has a starter’s arm, but is lacking in the development of his secondary pitches. That was apparent in his stint last September as a starter. Parnell did not pitch well, but with the season lost, I thought the Mets should have stayed with him longer in the rotation. It could have only helped in his development.

I don’t know where the Mets’ thinking currently is on Parnell. If they like him in the pen, then keep him in the pen on the major league level where he had some success. But, if they believe he’s a starter, then they should have him start the season in the minors in that capacity.

However, and this is where the Mets’ lack of depth hurts them again, their bullpen is so weak they might not have any other option but to use him in relief, further delaying his development as a starter.

Good evening my friends out West and you night owls. Getting hungry. My favorite after midnight diner food is an omelet and rye toast. Breakfast food is always good.

We had an interesting post during the game on the issue of clutch hitting. It doesn’t always come after the seventh inning. I remember a conversation I had with Ryan Church during spring training about stats.

The topic was a “do your job stat.” Every at-bat comes with it a defined objective. Runner on third, get the run home, even with an out. The Rays did it twice in the first inning. The Mets? Well, we’ve had that conversation more than a few times this summer.

Another good game tonight. You get the feeling this one could go the distance.

As far as the Mets were concerned today, the Mets finally finalized their coaching staff. Howard Johnson stays, which was surprising to some degree considering all the finger pointing about their inability to consistently perform with runners in scoring position.